The use of metal detectors to locate historical artifacts or abandoned weapons has become increasingly common among archaeologists, collectors, and experts in war history. In recent years, both enthusiasts and professionals have focused their attention on searching for weapons, ammunition, and other remains of World War II, especially in areas that were battlefields or had great strategic relevance during the conflict.
Poland, a country that played a crucial role during the war, has been one of the hot spots for these search efforts. During the conflict, Poland was occupied and divided between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, who distributed their territory in 1939 under the secret protocol of the German-Soviet non-aggression pact. It has been in one of its forests where two metal detectors made an unusual finding: a weapon dating from centuries ago.
The story of Rafal Proszowski and Mariusz Lampa, members of the Inventu Association, was published by The Miami Herald. They decided to explore a forest near Krakow, in southern Poland, in search of objects and weapons from World War II. As reported by the Science in Poland portal, the researchers chose this location because they knew that the area had been the scene of a withdrawal starring the Polish army after the Nazi invasion of their country.
A key role in funeral rites
It was in an area near a tree where the two Poles heard the peculiar sound of the metal detector. After excavating, several metal objects were unearthed, which proved to form an ancient Roman sword, divided into three parts. Once recovered, the pieces were transferred to the Museum of the City of Czestochowa, where experts confirmed that the sword dates back to the third or fourth century AD.
According to Archaeology News magazine, the sword was linked to the Przeworsk culture, a civilization that flourished in regions under Roman influence. In fact, it is known that members of this culture used objects imported from Rome in their funeral rites, which seems to coincide with the characteristics of the sword found. This discovery suggests that the weapon could have had an important role in an ancient cremation ritual. The fact that the sword was found in a Polish forest, far from the Roman Empire’s core territories, highlights the extent of Roman influence in the region and the cultural exchange that took place during that time.